Former director of CMHA pleads guilty to embezzling HUD funds

COLUMBUS, Ohio—Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine announced Tuesday that the former executive director and chief financial officer of the Coshocton Metropolitan Housing Authority has pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $431,000 from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Gregory J. Darr, 64, of Coshocton, entered the plea Tuesday in U.S. District Court.

Darr had served as the executive director and chief financial officer of the CMHA (which received money from HUD) since 2001. Despite federal regulations that prohibited it, he also started serving as the executive director of the CMHA resident council, a tenant organization that represents other public-housing residents and conducts programming.

Between January 2012 and September 2017, Darr allegedly embezzled money from both the CMHA and the resident council, using funds and resources for personal costs, such as restaurant bills, real estate investments, or business ventures.

The case was investigated by the Ohio Attorney General’s Economic Crimes Unit, Coshocton County Sheriff’s Office, HUD OIG, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Richmond County Sheriff’s Office (in Georgia), and U.S. Secret Service. It is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.